Giants GM Joe Schoen responds to Daniel Jones doubters

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen thinks quarterback Daniel Jones will silence doubters this fall. 

"I think you’ll see this season," Schoen said about Jones during an appearance on "The Zach Gelb Show," as shared by Logan Mullen of Audacy. "I’ve got a lot of confidence in Daniel and our coaching staff and the weapons that we’ve added. And again, we’ve still got to come together as a group, and we’re working on it now because there are new pieces." 

Schoen first joined the Giants in January 2022 and later declined the fifth-year option attached to Jones' rookie contract. The 2019 first-round draft pick then enjoyed his best NFL season, to date, playing under first-year head coach Brian Daboll and first-year offensive coordinator Mike Kafka en route to helping the Giants qualify for the playoffs. 

Less than two full months after Jones guided Big Blue to a road postseason win, the Giants signed him to a four-year contract that reportedly could be worth up to $160M and that includes an additional $35M in incentives. 

While Schoen received plenty of criticism for that deal, he explained during the CBS Sports Radio interview why he believes Jones will thrive after the Giants managed to hold onto Kafka for at least one more season. 

"But I think the biggest thing for Daniel is just the continuity of the staff, the understanding of the offense, the ability to execute at a high level, and then you upgrade some of the talent around him," Schoen continued. "I think you’re going to see the best version of Daniel Jones this year." 

Most notably, Schoen landed tight end Darren Waller via a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders in March after Jones spent the entire 2022 season without having a true No. 1 wide receiver in the lineup. Waller is quickly emerging as Jones' primary target this summer and, ideally, will help the 26-year-old show he's worthy of making franchise-quarterback money on a contract that could look like either a bargain or a massive mistake as soon as January 2024.